Silver Spring Teen Charged In 2017 Wheaton Mall Homicides: MCPD

SILVER SPRING, MD — A 19-year-old Silver Spring man has been arrested in connection with a double homicide that occurred at the Westfield Wheaton mall in 2017, police said.

King Yassin Leigh-Conteh was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder for the slaying of Angel Alfredo Gomez-Pineda, 24, of Silver Spring, and Kevin Siloe Moya Cruz, 22, of Wheaton, according to court records.

On Jan. 10, 2017, at about 3:17 p.m., emergency dispatchers received a call for an assault and possible stabbings at 11160 Veirs Mill Rd. Police and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel found Gomez-Pineda and Cruz on the lower level of the mall suffering from stab wounds. Both victims died within an hour of being taken to area hospitals, police said.

Officials launched an investigation and determined that the deadly assault was the product of a physical altercation. According to authorities, Gomez-Pineda and Cruz approached Leigh-Conteh inside the mall on Jan. 10, 2017. The suspect and victims began arguing and became involved in a physical altercation. Leigh-Conteh and the two victims then went their separate ways.

Approximately 15 minutes later, Gomez-Pineda and Cruz, who were accompanied by two men, approached Leigh-Conteh again. Police said that the group armed themselves with bamboo sticks that were being used as decoration at a mall restaurant.

According to authorities, Leigh-Conteh then brandished a knife and stabbed Gomez-Pineda and Cruz. The two victims collapsed in the mall and the suspect fled the scene.

More than two years after the incident, law enforcement officials arrested Leigh-Conteh. On Monday, officials executed a search warrant at his home and found "items of evidentiary value," police said. The 19-year-old Silver Spring resident was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

He is expected to appear in court on April 5.